‘Sometimes to leave seems possible until the thought of losing someone makes you realise just how much love still has you.’
Love is of course something that’s very hard to get your head around, particularly when your heart and your mind are in two different places. “Det som kallas kärlek” by Niklas Kihlstedt Rangberg is a very understated Swedish pop song which looks at that very issue of the difficulty of walking away from someone you love, even if you’ve thought about walking away more than once.
Right at the heart of the track is a very personal feeling. Niklas speaks of times when he’s imagined himself leaving, only to be plunged into a state of sadness and despair at the thought of what life would be like without that person. It’s that very tension which gives the song its emotional substance. The difference between just thinking about leaving and actually considering the prospect of losing someone is a very real one. “Det som kallas kärlek” is very much in that space where all of those things coexist. The rather unadventurous Swedish pop of the song is perfect for the subject. It doesn’t go in for any grand emotional gestures, it just gets on with it. Its real strength is in the very straightforward nature of the subject: love isn’t always easy and the decision to stay or go can be one that’s hard to put into words. Sometimes the fact that you’d lose someone in the process is all that’s required to prove just how much that person meant to you.
There’s also a broader reflection in the song’s message. Niklas is talking about love for another person, love for yourself and the difficulty of dealing with the conflicting emotions that arise from both. It’s a song that has a meaning which extends well beyond the simple issue of romantic uncertainty. It acknowledges that working out what you feel and what you’re going to do about it isn’t always easy. Based in Arvika Niklas has a musical identity that sits somewhere between traditional Swedish songs and pop. He’s been in the group Tri Angles and has experience in arranging singalongs and working with other musicians and music makers. He’s very clear that his music is AI free (apart from a handful of clearly AI versions that he’s put up on SoundCloud). “Det som kallas kärlek” is a very genuine song about the emotional side of love. It’s a song about the things we sometimes hold in our heads, the fear of losing someone we care about and the sheer difficulty of walking away. The quiet pop treatment allows that message to really sit and it’s a very relatable song for anyone who’s ever struggled to work out what love is actually asking of you.
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